


An Unexpected Meeting

by TheRagLadyandherTARDIS



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Crushes, F/M, Falling In Love, M/M, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-26
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-02 10:30:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8664265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRagLadyandherTARDIS/pseuds/TheRagLadyandherTARDIS
Summary: Rose Tyler and John Smith crash into each other on the first day of a new school year. They slowly fall in love, despite their differences.





	1. First Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose is not expecting anything, other than the typical hell of a first day, to happen when she goes to school.

Rose tugged a brush through her hair, annoyed. The summer had gone by too quickly and now she was back to school, dull and boring school. Her bag was on the bed, packed with school books and her uniform was perfect, her skirt hitting just above her knees, her black shoes polished to a disgusting shine and her shirt was crisp, white and perfectly ironed. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she ran down the stairs. "Rose!" Her mother shouted. "Have you eaten?"  
"I'll get something on the way to school!" She shouted back as she shut the door behind her.

The morning was a perfect September day, a pale imprint of the moon hanging in a perfect blue sky. The leaves on the trees were still green, but looked like they would turn golden and red any day. A cool wind lifted Rose's golden tresses as she marched along the street, bag swinging and smacking into her leg. She bought a chocolate bar and a cup of coffee at the corner shop, before continuing to the metro station. She reached it with 6 minutes until the train came and stood in line for her ticket. All perfectly normal, ordinary tasks. All completely boring. When she got her ticket, she leaned against the fence and read. Reading was the only time she ever felt disconnected from this reality and could escape somewhere else. She read all the time, every moment she could. Her only friend, Amy, laughed at her, her mother hated it and she had been told, countless times that this was the reason she would die an old spinster. But she didn't mind not having a boyfriend. All the boy's she knew were stupid and dull. The metro arrived and she walked towards it with her nose still in her book.

She arrived at school with time to spare and moped around the school yard until the bell went. Then she ran to her form room, one of the old music classrooms. The school was called Saint John's Bells and had an awful reputation. Rose hated it, she hated every day and all the students there, apart from Amy, her fiery tempered friend. The two had met a year ago, when Amy had been sat next to Rose in maths. Discovering someone as bad as maths as she was had been a blessing and a curse, as they now spent almost every lesson trying to prove the other was worse. The door opened and a new boy walked in. Tall and handsome, he wore a long blue trench coat over his school uniform. He grinned at Rose who peered at him over the top of her book. Seemingly undaunted, he slid into the seat beside him. "War and Peace. Good taste, who do you see yourself as? I've always seen myself as Anatole." He smirked.  
"Jack Harkness, and you are?"  
"Rose Tyler." She stuck her hand out. "And I don't really think I'm any of them."  
He laughed. "Really? None of them?"  
"None of them." She smiled wryly.  
"Sorry, but my friend Amy might kill you if you sit in her seat."  
"Too right." Amy stood behind them. "Move, asshole." Jack rolled his eyes and jumped up.  
"All yours, sweet lady." Amy just gave him a glare and sat down beside Rose. "Did you know, we've got a new teacher? She's called Mrs Vastra."  
"That would be Madam Vastra." The new teacher swept to the front of the class. "Hello class. I will be your form teacher for the year." Her eyes, a deep green colour, swept over the class. "Now, we have several hours to get to know each other today. I wish to know all your names by the end of the day. Each person will say their name and their favourite film." Her eye flicked over Rose, who had a book still in front of her. "Or their favourite book." Amy groaned. "Something wrong? Would you like to start?" Madam Vastra smiled at her.   
"Oh, it would be my pleasure." Amy stood and rolled her eyes. "Right, I'm Amy Pond and I don't have a favourite film, but my favourite book's Deep Secret by Diana Wyne Jones." One of the boys at the back snickered. " Something wrong, Richards?"   
"Nothing Pond." Richards replied, his eyes sweeping lecherously over Amy's figure. Rose tugged her back down.  
"Calm down." She whispered to her.   
"Amy?" Madam Vastra looked down at the register. "Not Amelia?"  
"I prefer Amy. Amelia Pond's a little too... fairy tale like." Amy replied.   
"Very well. You next." Vastra pointed at Rose, who swallowed and stood up.   
"Um, I'm Rose Tyler. I don't really like films and my favourite book is..." She frantically thought up a random title. "...Great Expectations by Charles Dickens." She sat down again and listened as the rest of the class stood up one by one and spoke. An hour of the morning passed in this dull form class, then they were all sent off to their lessons. "What do you have?" She looked at Amy who was staring at her timetable with a look of disgust.   
"Double maths. You've got to be kidding school!" Rose laughed and dug her timetable out her bag before swallowing.   
"Shit. Guess who has double physics, then maths." Amy smirked at her.  
"Bet you're regretting laughing now?"  
"Nah. I'll live with this. See at you lunch?"  
"Sure. Library?"    
"Yep. Better run. See you!"   
Amy disappeared into the busy corridor and Rose grinned, then ran across the yard. Clouds were gathering across the sky, dark and gloomy. The science labs were across the school, dull redbrick buildings that always stank of whatever the science building had accidentally burned/exploded. The physics rooms were on the top floor and Rose hated them. Checking her timetable again, she saw who was teaching her and tried not to sigh. Mr Thompson was the oldest, dullest teacher in the school and everyone hated his classes. She pushed open the door to Lab 9 and swallowed as Mr Thompson turned to glare at her. The room was empty, apart from Jack Harkness, a boy with dark hair and a pretty girl who was sitting at the back of the class and staring out the window, looking bored.  
"Name?" Mr Thompson barked at Rose.  
"Rose Tyler." He looked down at the register and marked her off.  
"Sit wherever you like. But if you talk too much, I will move you." Rose nodded and moved over to Jack's table.  
"Hey Rose! This is Ianto Jones." The dark haired boy smiled at her.  
"Nice to meet you." She smiled back. "Is this the whole class?"  
"I hope not, unless one of you is stellar at physics and I copy off you?" Ianto laughed.  
"Sorry, with me you'd do better in English." Rose rolled her eyes. "I can't do science or maths."  
"I can do both, don't worry." Jack gave Ianto a crooked grin. "Perhaps I could tutor you?"  
Ianto looked slightly taken aback. "Well, if you like."  
"Oh, I would like." Jack raised an eyebrow. Rose was about to butt in when the door opened and a tide of people rolled in. They all gave Mr Thompson their names then sat at the back. Rose was suddenly acutely aware of how close to the front they had sat. Judging by the look on Ianto's face, so was he. Mr Thompson stood up.  
"Good morning all! Now, today we are going to revisit the Rutherford experiment. Who can tell me what that was?" When no one raised their hand, he pointed at Rose. "You tell me."  
"It was the experiment that discovered the true structure of the atom, wasn't it?"  
Mr Thompson nodded. "Yes, Miss Tyler. In future, when you know an answer to a question, raise your hand. Understand?" Rose nodded, embarrassed at the mutters coming from the back of the class. Mr Thompson ignored them and launched into a lecture on the details of the experiment. Rose began scribbling notes in an old notebook, noticing how he hadn't given them books. At the end of the two hours, he had dragged them all through the intricacies of Rutherford's theory, explained the size of atoms and begun to ask questions about radiation. Rose had written several pages of notes, determined to do well at physics this year. Thompson's voice was dull and made her want to stay awake but she forced herself to stay awake. However, as soon as the class ended, she ran from the room. One more hour and it would be lunch.   
The next hour was slow, but Rose was pleased to see the work on maths she had done in the summer had paid off. When she left the class, the teacher, Miss Smith, congratulated her on her work. She nodded as she fumbled with the clasps on her bag. In the end, she left the classroom with it still open. The corridors were empty, with the school at lunch. Rose pulled War and Peace out and buried her nose in it, not looking where she was going. Suddenly she collided with something hard. Her bag fell off her shoulder and a dozen papers fell from it, her notebook with her physics and her private notebook, containing her stories and dreams of other worlds lying open across the corridor. Rose fall to knees and began to gathering things ups quickly, not noticing the boy picking up her journal. Looking up, she saw him thumbing through the papers.  
"Oh, hi, thanks? Can I have that back?" She looked at him, swallowing as she saw him properly for the first time.  
He was tall and skinny, his shirt and jumper hanging off him. His hair and eyes were dark brown, his hair sticking up everywhere. Rose suddenly imagined what it would be like to run her hands through his hair as they kissed, then blushed and dismissed the thought from her mind.  
"Oh, sure." She took the book with a grateful smile. He was staring at her and Rose was sure she looked wrong somehow. "John Smith, by the way."  
Rose shoved the rest of her things in her bag. "Rose Tyler. Thank you! I guess I'll see you around." With that she fled down the corridor and away to the library, sure she looked like a idiot.  
The library was empty, apart from Amy, who was sat, frowning over a piece of maths. St John's had sacked the librarian a long time ago and the room was the only place in the school that Rose truly liked. There were still hundreds of books left and she would often 'borrow' one or two. "Hey!" Rose slid across the table from her. "Had a good morning?"  
Amy frowned at her. "You okay? You're bright red."   
"Yeah, I'm fine." Rose bent down and searched through her bag for her book. "Oh crap!" She said suddenly, realising she had forgotten to pick it up when she crashed. "I'll be right back."  
"Rose!" Amy shouted after her as she ran out the room. She didn't turn back and Amy sighed. Something was bothering her best friend and she would find out what.   
The corridor was completely empty and her book was nowhere. Rose swore under her breath. she would have to find John Smith and see if he had it. If not, it was probably gone forever, with her only halfway through. Why were first day's of school always awful? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, sorry about any mistakes or problems with this chapter. I've never used ao3 to write with before. Hopefully I'll get another chapter out soon so something else will happen. I know this should be set in London, but I like Northern England better, so it's set there.


	2. Dreaming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John Smith lies awake, thinking about the strange girl he bumped into. She has captured his imagination and he needs to see her again. When he does fall asleep, he dreams, but the dream all too soon turns into a nightmare.

John opened the book slowly for the hundredth time and looked at the name written inside the front cover. Rose Tyler. Her handwriting was neat but pretty and he could see it every time he shut his eyes. Rose Tyler. Rose Tyler. "Rose." He said aloud, savouring the way the word felt on his tongue, the way it danced around his mouth. He imagined dancing with her, not in this time at an awkward school disco, but in the past, at a proper ball. Or in a fairytale. He thought Rose would fit well in a fairytale, the princess in the flowing dress, dancing and dancing, with him of course. She intoxicated him, suddenly. Rose. All he knew was her name, her looks and the book she had been reading. But that was enough.   
Was this love? If it was, it didn't feel dramatic enough. Instead it seemed as if she had appeared but had always been there, the angel waiting in the wings to step forward. He needed to see her again, needed to clarify it had not just been a dream he had had while awake. But how many dreams were solid and crashed into him? How many dreams wrote so much? The snippets he had seen had amazed him. In his mind, he read it again.   
_... the universe is so huge, so large. It has a path, beaten from stars, just waiting for me to step out onto it. But if that is where I'm going, where am I now? Am I building the doorway?... I like that idea. A doorway made from pages of books, from snippets of poetry, from loneliness and love, a door that is just aching to be pushed open so I can step out, into the stars. I want to fly, but instead here I am, stuck at St Johns...  
_ There had been more but John had only read that snippet. So Rose wanted adventure, like him. He wondered what she was doing now, wondered if he had infected her as she had him. Was she staring at the ceiling, trying to paint him in the air in front of her? Exhausted and realising he would get no sleep, he pulled his sketchpad over and flipped it to a new page. Then he took a pencil and began to draw her, eyes bright and alive, hair cascading down her back. She was smiling at him from the page, her face teeming with the universes she inhabited in her books and her strange mind that he had caught a single glimpse of. In his drawing, she stood against a backdrop of stars, but they formed constellation, a flower. A rose.  
Rose. Rose. Rose.  
It beat along with his heartbeat, thumping in his mind. It was like a flame, flickering each time he thought it. She had taken a match and lit his heart, sending his blood into a frenzy. The single match had lit a flame, which had caused a fire within hours of meeting her. And she was the water. The only thing that could put this inferno out, seeing her again. Brushing hands with her, pressing lips against hers,brushing her pale golden hair. Talking to her. Watching her laugh.  
In his mind, he created a thousand scenarios. A thousand dreams. A thousand ways to see her again.  
But that was all they would ever be. Dreams. A girl like her wouldn't want a boy like him. Any number of lads in the school must love her, and all would be better than him. He was nothing. Just a dark void of quiet, seething anger that bubbled over occasionally, burning anyone who got too close. Everyone he ever loved had left him, his mother, then his father, then his brothers and sisters. All his friends had gone. Each one. His home had burned, years ago, destroyed by the boy who lived down the road.  
He had never got revenge.  
But he had always wanted to.  
Did that make him better than the boy down the road?  
He swallowed back a lump that rose in his throat. He needed to forget his family, they always brought up the wrong side in him. They, like Rose, made him burn, but for the wrong reasons. They made him hurt, made tears spill from his eyes and scold his skin. Not like the sweet Rose. Her burn warmed him, made him tingle with excitement.  
His hand was sketching. He looked down at the picture. Rose was still standing before the stars, but now a raging fire blazed behind her. John scowled at the paper and threw it across the room. He needed to sleep.  
He dreamed that night.  
_"Hey, watch where you're going!" She didn't hear him, her nose buried inside a book. All too soon, they crashed. Her soft lips parted with a gasp and John inhaled her scent. Coffee, paper and the slightest hint of something he couldn't place. Her eyes flashed up to his. She was perfect. He stared at her for what felt like forever. Too soon, she turned away. Look back! His mind begged her. He wanted to memorise those eyes. But then he realised why she had looked away. Her things were scattered across the corridor. Intending to help her, he bent down to pick up a small notebook, the cover showing the imprint of writing inside. It had fallen open to a page. Interested, John began to read. Stories of time, space, witches, wizards, fairies and so much more burst from the fragile yellow pages.  
"Can I have that back please?" She looked up from where she was stuffing her bag. John couldn't remember exactly what he said but he handed it over.  
Four years later, he was in a church. She walked in, looking radiant in a long white gown, her face framed by a veil.  
"John Smith, do you take Rose Tyler to be your lawfully wedded bride?"  
This was it. The moment had arrived. Years of dating, leading to this.  
"I do."  
__"Rose Tyler, do you take John Smith to be your lawfully wedded husband?"  
She smiled at him, those perfect lips curving up into a smile.  
"I do."  
"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."  
__He leaned down and as their lips connected, nothing else mattered. They were together forever more now.  
"Till death do us part, love." He breathed to her, inhaling her sweet scent.  
  _ In his bed, John smiled in his sleep. Shadows flickered over the walls and the wind outside howled, but none of that mattered. He loved her, he would always love her.   
_They were together, happy, she was his Queen, he was her King.  
One night, they were sat together in front of the fire. It was bonfire night and fireworks outside were going off. Their dog started barking and John laughed.   
"I'll go let him in love."   
__He went to door to call the dog in, when he heard a scream.  
"Rose!"  
__Why was she screaming? He ran back and saw the thing he had wished never to see again._  
 _Fire._    
 _The house was burning.  
_ _Just as it always did in his dreams._  
 John woke up with a start. No scream left his throat, he had lost all those years ago.   
Just a nightmare. That was all. No one was burning.   
He began to count his breaths, trying to force them to calm down.  
It was nothing. He got nightmares all the time. They had stopped, but clearly were coming back. He forced himself to be calm.   
Each breath still matched her name.   
He needed to see her again.   
Rose. 


	3. Snowflakes and Smiles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack can't keep his nose out of other people's business, but that's quite a good thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken me forever to write this, I've had mock exams (grrrr) and then Christmas and family (again, grrr). Hopefully I'll get the next one up sooner. A lot of it was written late at night so please forgive any spelling mistakes. I hope you like it!

It was surprisingly easy to find John Smith once Rose put her mind to it. First, she asked Amy if she'd ever met him.   
"John Smith? I've heard the name. He's new I think."   
Rose sighed. Amy had also fallen for someone, a boy in their year called Rory Williams. She spoke of almost nothing but him for three days after meeting him in her chemistry class. Rose had met him, and liked him. Jack, who seemed to have joined their little group also liked him. He was sat with them in the library while Rose was asking about John.  
"I know John. He's in the year above. Hard working, quiet, a genius when it comes to maths and science and so cute." Jack wolf whistled. "Why, Rosie, got a crush on him?" Rose blushed frantically and shook her head.   
"No! I mean, no, I don't have a crush. And don't call me Rosie."   
Jack pouted. "But it suits you, Rosie."   
"It doesn't. So shut up." Jack just laughed and Rose knew he would always call her that. "Anyway, I have to go."   
"Why?" Jack grinned. "Off to find John?"   
"Nope, off to see a teacher." As she left the room, she heard his laughter.   
So, John would probably be in the science department. Or out of the school for lunch, which was a privilege year 12's were given. Praying he would still be in the science block, she headed there.   
Most of the rooms in the science building were empty. A group of teachers were sat in the office and Mr Thompson scowled when he saw her walk in, but otherwise none noticed her. She tread the floorboards carefully, trying not to make a noise.  _If he's not here, you have Deadhouse Gates to read._ She tried to comfort herself each time a room was empty. All the biology rooms were. She peered into the coat room at the end, but that was also silent, not counting the rain that dripped onto the window. A shiver ran down her spine. She hated this part of the school, it was always too silent. If you listened hard enough, you could hear the footsteps of the ghosts everyone said wandered the school. She forced herself to not think such stupid things and moved to the next floor. A shadow flickered across the frosted glass of a door and Rose froze, one hand stretched out to the handle. The shadow also froze and then the door flew open, crashing into her.   
"Ouch!" She fell over and hardly noticed who had come running from the room.   
"Hey, are you okay?" John knelt down beside the girl who had haunted her dreams her blonde hair framing her pale face.   
"Yeah, I'm fine." She began to scramble up, but John held a hand out.   
"Let me help."   
"Thanks." She grinned at him. "I guess we're even with the crashing into each other now?"   
He laughed and Rose wanted to store the sound forever. "Yes, guess that's true. So what sort of things do you enjoy doing? Apart from reading, obviously." He grinned. "War and Peace is kind of a tome, especially to be carrying around with you in school. Oh! I forgot." Watching him stumble over his words as he remembered things was another thing Rose wanted to memorise. "Here you go." He was holding out her book!   
"Oh my god! Thank you!" She almost snatched it from him in her haste and then cursed herself. "Sorry... I'm not normally like that. I mean, I am where books are concerned but..." She trailed off, realising that she would go off on a tangent. Focusing, she managed to answer his question. "Yep, it's quite heavy, but the words are worth it." He laughed again, sending tiny sparks along Rose's bones.  
"So you like Tolstoy then?"  
"How did you guess?"  
Their eyes met and they both dissolved into giggles. At this point they were stopped by a stern cough. Rose turned to find her eyes connecting with Mr Thompson's. "If you two have quite finished..." He tapped his foot impatiently and Rose muttered an apology.  
"We were just going, sir." The pair scurried out, Rose still clutching her book.  
"So, we're in a corridor and we haven't banged into each other yet. We're making progress." The dry comment made her laugh- yet again! Why was he so funny, it really wasn't fair.    
"Do you want to come with me to the library? My friends, Amy and Jack are there. At least they were, they might have wandered off without my supervision.  
"Lead the way, fair maid." He gave a gallant bow.  
"Don't you dare make me giggle, I'm going to try and be refined now." She gave him a stern, mocking glare.  
"Refinery is boring, leave that to Helene and Anna Pavlova."  
"I would assume you're referring to Tolstoy, but who is Anna Pavlova? I don't think I've met her yet." She gave him a rather confused look.  
"Yes, at the beginning, there's a character called Anna Pavlova? She spends a soiree making sure Pierre doesn't make a fool of himself?"  
"Um..." Rose tried to suppress her laugh. "It's Anna Pavlovna you're thinking of."  
"Anna Pavlova would have made a better name, don't you think?" At this Rose lost all control over her laugh and snorted.  
"Would you want your Anna topped with fruit, chocolate or toffee?" He rolled his eyes at her.  
"Fruit, definitely."  
Rose shook her head and guided him to the library. 

* * *

By November, Rose, John, Amy, Jack, Ianto and Rory were as thick as thieves. They spent every moment they could together, inside and outside of school. But every moment spent with John reminded Rose of how attractive he was, how intelligent and interesting. John felt exactly the same way towards Rose. Both spent countless nights imagining what it would be like to kiss the other. However, while both of them were clueless to the chemistry between them, their friends were not.   
"Jack, why have you called us here?" Amy curled up on Jack's couch next to Rory, their fingers brushing. Ianto leaned against a wall opposite them and Jack sat in an armchair, watching the three of them.  
"Because we need to get Rose and John to date. Somehow."  
"Oh Christ, we're matchmaking now." Ianto climbed into Jack's armchair and curled up against him. "Let them sort it out, love, they will eventually."   
"I'm sick of seeing them pine for each other like heartbroken chipmunks, honey."   
"Why are you referring to them as chipmunks?" Amy looked slightly confused. "Last time I checked, they weren't furry or small. Though Rose is very cute when she takes her nose out a book and into the real world."  
Jack let out a short sarcastic laugh. "I'm calling them chipmunks because that was the first animal that came into my head. Okay?" Amy gave him a nasty smile and opened her mouth to fire back when Rory cut in.  
"Okay, they're chipmunks. Let's think up a plan. How about we get them to meet up somewhere romantic? Pretend we're going, but don't?"  
"Yes! That's what I was waiting for." Jack sat up and clapped excitedly. "Romantic locations. Paris?"  
Amy sighed. "Jack, there is no way in hell that they will agree to just 'go' to Paris."  
Jack looked slightly downhearted when Ianto grinned.  
"I've got it. We'll send them to the ice rink."

* * *

The cryptic message from Jack left John feeling slightly annoyed. _meet me at the ice rink in 20 minutes? i need to talk. see you. Jack xxx_  He was waiting at the ice rink and, so far, no sign of Jack. He sighed and pulled his coat around him. It was late November, the skies were dark and gloomy, heavy with the promise of rain but refusing to follow through. John tapped his foot and checked his watch, telling himself he would only wait five more minutes.  
Three minutes later, Rose appeared, looking as cross as he felt. Of course, this didn't stop her from looking gorgeous, a woolly hat pulled down over her gorgeous blonde hair and the cold painting her cheeks pink. "Rose!" John shouted and waved her over. She grinned.  
"Did Amy text you too?"  
"Nah, Jack did. What did Amy say?"  
Rose handed him her phone. Amy had sent her the message _okay blondie, see you at the ice rink. get that pretty head out of your books. 20 minutes, ill be there. we need to talk._ John showed her the message from Jack.  
"This feels a little suspicious." She raised an eyebrow. "Shall we go inside? No point freezing out here when we can freeze and fall over in the name of fun inside." John laughed at her. Rose always made him laugh, it was a strange talent she had.  
"Sure, blondie. Why does Amy call you that?" He pretended to act confused.   
Rose narrowed her eyes at him. "Gee, I wonder. Perhaps... And this is a big perhaps... because of my hair colour?"    
"Never thought of that."   
They bickered as they made their way to the front of the queue to borrow skates. Small children were milling about, talking and laughing excitedly, making it almost impossible to put the skates on. John discovered, during the arduous process of making sure all the clips were done on the shoes, that if he ever had children, they would never go ice skating. But his grumpy thoughts were stilled when Rose took his arm and pulled him towards the rink.  
"Have you ever done this before?" She asked him as he teetered on the edge of the ice.  
"Nooo... I don't like it very much."  
Rose grinned. "Don't be silly, it's easy!" She slid out onto the ice, seemingly with no trouble. "Come on..."  
"Fine." He stepped out slowly, clinging onto her when he slid. She, much to his annoyance, pushed him away.  
"Try without me maybe? Just glide." She demonstrated and he tried to copy, but somehow ended up landing on his arse.  
"Ow!"  
"Yeah, that happens when you're learning." She pulled him up and pushed him off again.

Watching John, Rose grinned to herself. She had finally found something he was bad at! He was bad at it in an adorable, sweet way, but still. On the ice he looked like an uncoordinated cat. She kept having to pull him up from the ground. "You'll be all bruised tomorrow." She grinned. "Oh and be careful, someone lost a finger on this ice rink once."   
"What?" He looked terrified.  
"Yup. They fell over and someone skated over their finger, slicing it clean off. Apparently if you look down, you can still she the blood in the ice..." At this all the blood drained from John's face.  
"Enough ice skating for me, I think."  
"I was joking!" She called out as she followed him back to hand their skates in. "It's a story my mum used to tell me to make me wear gloves."  
He shrugged. "Still, it could happen."  
"Yes, anything could happen." Sometimes John annoyed her. He seemed a little too careful, a little too restrained. "Come on, back into the cold we go." She slipped his hand through his, then froze, realising what she had done. He didn't seem to mind though, so she went with it, her fingers entwined with his.

They left the building holding hands. Rose's skin tingled, as if he had sent a current through it. But even his touch couldn't distract her from what was outside. White, pure, perfect flakes of snow were falling around them. "Snow!" She grinned stupidly.  
"You're not wrong there, dear."   
"Shut up." She smirked up at him. "I love snow."   
"I guessed."   
"It's one of the reasons I was so determined to learn how to ice skate when I was younger. I wanted to be part of the snow, it was so beautiful." She whispered, not sure why she was telling him this. 

John looked down at Rose, who was gazing at the snowflakes that danced in the air. One caught in her hair and he went to remove it, his hand brushing against her neck. She looked up at him and then, without knowing why, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, relishing the startled gasp she let out before her hands wrapped around his neck, tangling in his hair. Her lips were cool against his, her scent overwhelming, her taste magical. She was so perfect, he couldn't believe it had taken him this long to do this. They slowly pulled apart and he saved every part of her to his heart. Her hair, wild and tangled. Her lips, slightly open as she gazed at him in shock. Her chest, rising and falling. And her eyes... 

They were so very alive, so bright and full of everything. He thought he would drown in them. No, he didn't think. He knew. He would drown in her beautiful eyes, lose himself in her soul and he wouldn't care.

"You don't need to be part of the snow to be beautiful. You're perfect."  

 


End file.
